Electrical drink-mixer.



R. H. STRINGHAM.

ELECTRICAL DRINK MIXER'.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.I2. 1917.

1,242,493. Patented 001;.' 9, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEEI l.

I I UZ 1. ,e5 y

32 3312 f5 20 Z1 15 1? 54 '6+' l ZZ n HIII.k "I 45TA N\' 5 R. H.STRINGHANI.

ELECTRlCAL DRINK MIXER. APPLICATION FILED 1AN.12.1917.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' fountain or RICHARD H. STRINGHAM, OF BQUNTIFUL, UTAH.

ELECTRICAL DRINK-MIXER.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, RICHARD dum-I STRINGHAM, a citizen of the UnitedStates,

residing at Bountiful, in the county of Davis and State of Utah, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Drink-Mixers,of which the following is a specification.

1 My invention relates to new and useful improvements in drink mixersfor soda bar use for mixing malted milks, egg-nogs2 frapps and thelike,and .has for one object, the construction of an electric mixerwhich has no fine wires to burn outl or brushes to replace, employing nocommutatdr," slip rings, sliding contacts, or flexible connections, andtherefore being economical in manufactureV and durable and eflicient inuse.

A further object of `my invention consists in constructing an electricdrink mixer in which a motor of the squirrel-cage type is employed andin which the rotor in 1tself forms the mixing element.l

Another object of my invention isvto provide a motor of the charactermentioned which will operate at higher speeds than the motors nowcommonly employed in electric drink mixers and which as a result willcause a more rapid and perfect mixing of drinks.

Electric mixers as now commonly employed although superior to manualmixing devices are objectionable in that the motor is usually more orless noisy. A further object of this invention consists in constructinga motor which will be quiet in operation, this being accomplishedlargely byemploying the rotor of the motor as the mixing element so thatit is immersed in the liquid being mixed which will, therefore, act as acushioning agent and partially by mounting the casing of the device uponcushioning or shock absorbing supports.

A still further object which I have in view is the provision of meansfor preventing loss of liquid beingmixed through overflowing from themixingl container or splashing therefrom.

And a still further object of my invention is the construction of amixer which will be more Compact and nearer and more Specification ofLetters Patent.

Patented Oct. 9, 1917.

Application mea January la. i917. seriai No. 142,618.

pleasing in appearance than those formerly in use. n

Vith these and other objects 1n view, my

`:invention will be more fullv described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and then specificallyv pointed out in the claimswhich are attached to and form a part of this application.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional. view cf my improved mixer;

Fia. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the rotor supporting memberand mixing glass:

Fim 4 is a side elevation .of a switch employed for controlling themotor;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking inthe direction of the arrows;

F ig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the wiring of the device;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the mixer clearly illustrating itscompact and neat appearance.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

My improved electric mixer includes a substantially rectangularmetallic, neatly finished casing or housing 10 which forms a support fora mixing glass 11 and which incloses the stator 12 of the electric motor13. This casing has cushioning plugs 14 of rubber or equivalent materialinsertedin its base lwhich serve to absorb shocks or jars and render thedevice quiet and which also serve to prevent slipping of the device upona polished table or shelf. y

The form of rotor employed isa single phase alternating current motor ofthe squirrel-cage type and includes the stator 12 which is built up oflaminated iron, the stator rings being clamped between nuts 15 threadedupon bolts 16 passed through the top wall of the casing and anchored bynuts 17. This stator core or element carries the usual two pole twophase winding 18. Co-

operating with this stator is a rotor 19 built up of laminated iron inthe form of a disk having a central opening in which is shrunk a bushingor bearing 2O and the squirrelcage conductors 21 are fixed about itsrim. The laniinations making up this rotor are also provided with aseries of openings 22 alining with each other to form openingscompletely through the rotor and preferably conccntrically disposedtherein.

The upper wall of the casing is formed directly above the stator of themotor with an opening 23 through which the base of the mixing glass 11may pass so that the lower portion of the glass will be disposed withinthe casing and between the poles of the stator, as clearly shown inFig. 1. A supporting or armature shaft 24 is provided at one end with ahead 25 having a squared socket 26 to engageabout a squared plug or boss27 formed uponthe inner side of the bottom of the mixing glass andcentrally thereof. This shaft is adapted to revolubly support the rotor19 within the glass and in spaced relation to the bottom thereof but isitself held against turning through its locking connection with theglass. A vane of sheet metal or equivalent material 28 is proportionedto lit in the upper part of the mixing glass and has its side edgesangularly disposed to conform to the taper of the glass. This vanecentrally of its width is formed with transverse incisions 29 in orderthat portions at opposite sides of the incisions may be oppositelyoutbent -to provide half sleeves 30 sothat the vane may be slipped overthe upper end of the shaft 24 and serve as a centering means for theshaft. This vane also prevents any loss of liquid being mixed throughspattering or overflow as will be later pointed out. As the rotor formsth'e mixing element and is immersed in the liquid being mixed, it isreferably covered with a thin coating of suitable material such asCelluloid or collodion so that it may be conveniently cleaned byimmersion in Water and so that all crevices which might collect foreignmatter will be closed.

Screws 31 secured in opposite end walls of the easing by nuts 32,support in one instancea tube 33 of porcelain, fiber, or othernon-conducting material and in the other instance a core, 34 of aninductive resistance coil 35 having the winding 36. A non-inductiveresistance winding 37 is carried by the tube,33. The purpose of thesewindings will be later pointed out in detail. Mounted withinV thehousing 10 and supported by a base 38 of insulating material is a switch39. This switch includes a bracket 40 which pivotally supports aknifeblade 41 movable into engagement with the knife blade contacts 42of the switch which are in electrical connection with a binding post 43,a binding post 44 carried by the 65- bracket constituting the otherterminal of the switch. A spring 45 fixed to the knife blade and to astud 47 carried by the base normally serves to hold the switch in openposition, its movement being limited by a 76 stop shoulder 48 formed onthe bracket. AThis switch is so disposed that in open position theContact engaging end of the knife blade member of the switch projects sothat the positioning of the mixing glass, as shown in Fig. 1, willengage it to swing it and close the switch. Obviously when the glass isremoved the spring 45 will immediately swing the switch blade to openthe switch.

The stator windings at one terminal are in 30 electrical connection 49with one of the binding posts of the switch and their opposite terminalsare in electrical connections 50 and 51 with the non-inductiveresistance coil 37 and iinductive resistance winding 36, respectively.One line wire 52 is electrically connected to both resistance .coils andthe other line wire 53 is connected to the othcil binding post of theswitch. This wiring is clearly shown in Fig. 6. It will. therefore, 99be seen that one set of coils is in series with the non-inductiveresistance and the other in series with the inductive resistance orreactance and that both of these coils are in parallel with the linewire with the result that the current in one coil will lag behind thatof another coil and will give rise to a rotating magnetic field.

In operation the rotor is mounted upon the shaft 24 and both the rotorand shaft are inserted in the mixing glass 11, the shaft being turneduntil it locks with the glass. The vane 28 is then applied to the upperend of the shaft and moved into engagement with the glass to center theshaft and the 195 various ingredients-to be mixed are put in the glass.The mixing glass is then positioned in the casing, as shown in Fig. 1,thereby closing the switch and energizing the motor to cause rotation ofthe rotor and consequent mixing of the various ingredients contained inthe glass. The rapid turning of the rotor, of course, causes the liquidscontained in the glass to turn and, consequently, climb the sides of theglass but the vane extending diametrically across the upper end of theglass, breaks up the rotating current and prevents overflow from theglass or spattering.

After the drink has been properly mixed the glass is removed from thecasing which automatically opens the switch. The shaft 24, together withits vane and rotor, are lifted from the glass and the contents of theglass is emptied into one or more service glasses. Both the mixing glassand the parts of the mixer for operating therewith. namely, the rotor,rotor shaft and vane, may

be readily Washed and cleansed through immersion in either cold or hotwater as preferred when the device is again ready for use.

The motor is adapted to operate on a single phase alternating current of110 to 120 volts and therefore may be driven by the usual lightingcurrent. The operation of the motor is accomplished through splitting Ithe rotor squirrel-cage conductors inducing currents in them which tendto drag the rotor around with .the field. As it increases .in speed ,thetorque on the rotor becomes greater and greater until its rated speed isapproached. lVith .a motor having a two pole winding of this characterthe rotative speed of the rotor would be the same as the frequency ofthe alterations of the exciting current if there were nolosses but someloss occurs, due to the space .between the rotor and stator core.However, an extremely high rotor speed is obtained and the loss isimmaterial considering the rapidity with which the mixing isIaccomplished and the short periods during which the device is used. Allcurrent conducting parts are', of course, suitably insulated from thecasing.

Although I have illustrated my invention in detail and described itsspecific structure, it will, of course, be understood that I reserve theright to make any changes or alterations within the scope of the claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In a drink mixer, a stator, a di-electric receptacle adapted to bepositioned within the stator, a rotor insertible in the receptacle, andmeans for rotatably supporting the rotor within the receptacle and inthe plane of the stator.

2. In a drink mixer, a stator, a di-electric receptacle adapted to bepositioned within the stator, a rotor insertible in the receptacle, andmeans for rotatably supporting the rotor within the receptacle and inthe plane ofthe. stator, said means including a shaft disposed axiallyof the receptacle and locked thereto against turning movement, the rotorbeing revolubly mounted upon the shaft.

3. In a drink mixer, a stator, a di-electric receptacle adapted to bepositioned vwithin the stator, a rotor insertible in the receptacle,means for rotatably supporting the rotor within the receptacle and inthe plane of the stator, said means including a shaft disposed -axiallyof the receptacle and locked thereto against turning movement7 the rotorbeing revolubly mounted upon the shaft,

4. In a drink mixer, a stator, a di-electric i receptacle insertiblewithin the stator, a rotor insertible in the receptacle, meansdetachably engaging with the rotor for revolu'bly supporting it withinthereceptacleand in the plane of the stator, current supply conductorsfor the stator, yand a switch in one of the conductors'arranged to beclosed by positioning of the' receptacle within the stator.

5. In a drink mixer, a stator, a di-electric receptacle insertiblewithin the stat-or, a rotor insertible in the receptacle, meansdetachably engaging with the rotor for revolubly supporting it withinthe receptacle and in the plane of the stator, current supply conductorsfor the stator, a switch in one of the conductors arranged to be closed.by positioning of the receptacle within the stator, and meansforautoniatically opening the switch upon removal of the receptacle. l

6. A drink mixer including a casing, a stator mounted in the casing, thetop of the casing being formed with an opening concentric with themagnetic field of the stator, a circuit for the stator, a switch in thecasing controlling the circuit, and in substantial alinement with oneside of the opening in the top wall thereof, means normally holding theswitch in open position, a dielectric receptacle insertible through theopening in the casing to seat within the field of the stator and adaptedwhen so inserted to engage the switch and close it, a rotor insertiblewithin the receptacle and forming a mixing element, and means forrotatably supporting the rotor within the receptacle and in the plane ofthe stator poles.

7. In a drink mixer, a cli-electric receptacle formed centrally of itsbottom with an upwardly directed squared stud, a shaft enlarged at oneend to provide a shoulder and having the enlarged end formed with asquared recess to lockingly engage the stud, a rotor revolubly anddetachably mounted upon the shaft and supported by the shoulder, therotor forming a mixing element and being provided with apertures, a vanedetachably connected to the shaft and adapted to seat in and extenddiametrically of the upper end of the receptacle to coperate with thestud and center the shaft, and a stator, the receptacle beingproportioned to seat within the stator to locate the rotor in the planethereof.

8. In a vdrink mixer, a di-electric receptacle formed centrally of itsbottom with an upwardly directed squared stud, a shaft enllo larged atone end to provide a shoulder und having the enlarged end formed With asquared recess to lookingly engage the stud, e rotor revolubly anddetnchably mounted upon the shaft and supported by the shoulder, therotor forming a mixing element and being provided with apertures, a vanedetaeliably connected to the shaft and adapted to seat in and extenddiametrically of the upper end of the receptacle to ooperate with thestud and center the shaft, a stator, the receptacle being proportionedto seat Within the stator to locate the rotor in the plane thereof, andmeans including a switch for supplying current to the stator, the 15`tainer, a stator disposed about the container',

and a rotor disposed within the container to 20 be driven by the stator.v

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

RICARD H. STRINGHMLL [n sq

